Villain wants to live as a commoner chapter 3

I awakened as an S-rank at fifteen.

And immediately after awakening, I collapsed and remained unconscious for a while.

During the time I was out, I had an extremely long dream.

In the dream, I was a truly wicked person. Not just wicked, but an atrocious villain beyond words.

The goal of my villainy was absurdly the extinction of humanity. Naturally, it was an aim destined to fail. However, in the dream, I was quite competent and almost succeeded in achieving my goal.

More people died than during the initial dungeon appearance, and the societal structure was completely shattered.

The person who stopped me was Baek Gunho.

Baek Gunho was like a Hero who appeared in this ruined world. Unlike those who had been futilely struggling until then, Baek Gunho was genuinely powerful.

When Baek Gunho, who repeatedly thwarted me, finally tracked me down in the background, I sensed my end was near. And as I had foreseen, I, merely a villain, was unable to defeat Baek Gunho and collapsed.

Obviously, that was a fate befitting a villain. To commit all sorts of evil while thinking oneself the greatest, only to eventually surrender.

In the end, it was a predictable demise at the hands of a hero, but I did not regret the things that happened so far. I was simply relieved that this tumultuous life had come to an end.

The last memory of the dream was Baek Gunho’s distorted face staring at me.

The dream was indeed long and detailed. Although I had been unconscious for only three days, it felt as vivid as if I had lived nearly twenty years.

Moreover, to prove that it wasn’t just a simple dream, my attributes window featured a characteristic I had seen in the dream, occupying a place of its own.

[Villain’s Qualities (EX): Destined to be a villain who will destroy this world. Becomes more susceptible to evil influences. All stats double when committing evil acts. However, if one resists their fate, misfortune will occur to steer them back on their original path.]

Judging by the name alone, the characteristic seemed to be a problem, turning my dream life into that of a wretched one. The fear that it might become a reality was creeping inside me.

It was too vivid to dismiss as mere delusion. It felt as if I had directly experienced those events.

For a while, I wandered without a sense of reality. The S-rank level displayed on the system window, as well as the unprecedented EX-rank attribute, seemed unbelievable.

Especially, I avoided Baek Gunho, who had been my friend since I was twelve. Even though the real Baek Gunho hadn’t killed me, I was inexplicably wary whenever I saw him.

But Baek Gunho was not someone who could be avoided. He was close to an unavoidable natural disaster. I was eventually grabbed by Baek Gunho by the collar.

“Why are you suddenly avoiding me?”

“……There’s a reason for it.”

“What’s the reason?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Stop messing around.”

I ignored Baek Gunho’s reprimands. Or rather, I tried to ignore him…… But Baek Gunho persistently followed me.

During this time, ominous events began to occur around me. Bad people became entangled with me, and suspicious drugs happened to catch my eye. As long as it was just me, I could manage if I stayed alert.

The problem was with the people around me.

The first to get hurt was a friend I was close with at the time.

On the way to visit this friend who was hospitalized due to a traffic accident, another friend who had accompanied me also had an accident.

Those who confessed to me met unfortunate events without exception. The rumor that I brought misfortune spread in no time.

In the end, I ran away. And within less than two days, I was caught by Baek Gunho.

“Are you out of your mind?”

As soon as he found me, Baek Gunho harshly interrogated me. I was dragged by Baek Gunho, which kept me from going astray.

It was around then that I could no longer completely push Baek Gunho away. In a situation where all other friends had left, I couldn’t heartlessly turn away someone who had searched for me for two days.

Afterward, the only people left by my side were my uncle and Baek Gunho.

The conclusion of this story is that life has become a bit tough due to my damned characteristic of being a villain.

Of course, it was still better than in the dream, so it was manageable. Unlike when no one was around, I now have an uncle, and at least Baek Gunho is here too.

I decided to resist against my fate as a villain. Soon, I concluded that to achieve my goal, I had to live a normal life. A life of a commoner.

Originally, even villainous acts become grander as one becomes more significant. I, too, wasn’t a villain from the start in the dream.

As I climbed higher in the organization, the scope of what I could do increased, and so did the weight of my crimes. Even a trivial remark could snowball into something much bigger.

But an ordinary civilian, no matter how much they act out, has clear limits. Unless one is determined, the extent of their criminal actions is restricted to getting a speeding ticket.

As long as I live normally, I won’t become a villain capable of destroying this world.

Under this assumption, my life goal became to live a long and thin life as an unremarkable commoner.

I insisted to my uncle that I didn’t want to become a hunter. In a society where it’s taken for granted that high-level awakeners become hunters who hunt monsters, it was unlikely that a rare S-class awakener could live quietly without becoming one.

My uncle willingly accepted my stubbornness. He also understood that my rank was an obstacle to living normally.

So, we attempted rank manipulation against the state. And the manipulation succeeded easily, thanks to my uncle’snetwork.

As a result, I was able to live as an ordinary F-class awakener, Seo Heewon.

It was embarrassing to explain in detail, as I had done with my uncle, so the fact that I was actually an S-class remained a secret even from Baek Gunho.

***

The lottery I bought last week was a dud. I was once again destined to go to work.

Due to a terrorist incident, the company had to undergo urgent repairs, so I was even more reluctant to return to work after a week off.

Finishing the repairs in just a week was impressively efficient. Couldn’t they have taken it a bit easier?

I don’t want to work. I had a fervent desire to work hard when I was looking for a job, but now that I’m employed, I don’t want to work.

No matter how I think about it, it seems like the company demands a lot of labor compared to my salary. Isn’t it supposed to be a little higher, at least one digit up?

My uncle said I could be a jobless bum if I wanted, but living off my uncle, who’s over fifty, felt a bit inhumane.

It might be different if he were drowning in money, but despite his fame, his earnings aren’t that great.

Entering the company, I fantasized about throwing my resignation letter at the team leader’s face. As soon as I sat down, other employees flocked to me.

In an instant, my desk turned into a hot spot rivaling popular eateries on social media.

“Seo Heewon, how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, thanks.”

“We were worried about you.”

“I’m glad you’re not injured.”

“The company was so dull without you.”

“Haha, yes……”

Your excessive concern can be a poison to introverts. Please cherish introverts. I stifled the urge to say that and responded with a smile, pretending to be like an idol at a fan signing event.

By the time I finished my day’s work and was ready to head home, I was completely exhausted. But I couldn’t leave immediately.

“Now that the company is restored and Seo Heewon has safely returned, let’s have a celebratory dinner!”

What’s the point of celebrating with a dinner? Isn’t it better to just have lunch?

I wanted to say that if you’re celebrating my safe return, just let me go home, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

I was too low in the hierarchy to voice that.

“Come on, drink up. You’ve worked hard, so you need to drink.”

If you’ve been working hard, isn’t it right to nourish your body with good food? I was too weak to say otherwise.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Make sure to eat plenty of meat. You’re in your twenties—don’t eat so sparingly.”

“Ha ha, okay.”

I tried my best to enjoy the food as if I were a politician visiting a market during election season. Meanwhile, I intermittently accepted drinks offered from various places.

Awakened individuals are much sturdier than regular people. The higher the rank, the more robust the body becomes.

Being S-rank, I even develop resistance to drugs and poisons, so ordinary alcohol doesn’t get me drunk.

It was a bit frustrating to remain clear-headed among people who were getting drunk.

At that moment, I felt my phone, which I had calmly left under the table, vibrating. The continuous messages made me frown as I guessed who was sending them. After seeing that no one was paying attention to me, I checked the messages.

Baek Gunho:
What are you doing?
Answer me.
What are you doing?
Hey, Seo Heewon.

Me: ?

Why are you late again?

Me: At a company dinner.

Why does that crazy company have so many dinners?

Me: I know, right?

Me: This is annoying ——

Baek Gunho:
If you don’t want to, why are you doing this?
Make any excuse and come out.

Me: I don’t want to.

Baek Gunho:
Come out.

Me:Fuck.

I typed a single character in response, put my phone on silent, and flipped it over.

I could almost hear Baek Gunho’s frustration. He’s the type who gets sick when things don’t go his way.

Most of the time, he drags things along as he wants… I could say that I was the only hardship in Baek Gunho’s life.

At that moment, Supervisor Choi, grinning, spoke to me.

“Heewon, are you talking with your girlfriend?”

“Huh? No, I’m not.”

“No? But you’re smiling.”

No, it’s just funny thinking about Baek Gunho throwing a tantrum.

“Sometimes, a luxury car comes to pick you up. Is that your girlfriend?”

That’s Baek Gunho.

“Heewon, you sometimes go out to take calls secretly. I happened to see you on the phone, looking very happy.”

That’s also Baek Gunho.

“When I ask what you did on weekends, you always say you met with friends. That’s your girlfriend, isn’t it?”

That’s also Baek Gunho.

“I’d expect someone like you to have a very pretty girlfriend.”

“Birds of a feather flock together, right?”

“…No, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

The idea that Baek Gunho and I are dating is absurd.

My relationship status was a frequent topic at dinners. Before I could be asked more, I flipped the meat I’d ordered with tongs.

The meat, now perfectly cooked to a beautiful color, gleamed with a glossy sheen of oil.

“It’s all cooked. Please eat.”

The initially ordered amount wasn’t enough, so chopsticks quickly descended on the meat.

I covered my mouth with the well-cooked meat at just the right time.

I still don’t understand why people are so interested in someone else’s relationship status.